Virtual Stars
Monday, 13 August
6:30 - 8:30 pm
West Hall B
Visual Effects Supervisors at Sony Pictures Imageworks and
Rhythm & Hues Studios discuss creation of photo-realistic
digital characters for leading roles in films. This session
provides a rare look at the evolving technical and artistic
capabilities that have dramatically expanded filmmakers' boundaries:
creation of digital characters with dynamic personalities
and an unparalleled level of realism, seamlessly integrated
into a live-action environment. Individual presentations will
be followed by a roundtable discussion.

ModeratorKen RalstonSony Pictures Imageworks Inc.

Panelists Jerome Chen
Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.

John Dykstra
Columbia Pictures

Bill Kroyer
Rhythm & Hues

Bill Westenhofer
Rhythm & Hues

Rob Legato
Warner Bros.

Masters of the GameWednesday, 15 August
12:30 - 2 PM
West Hall B

Winners of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences 2001
Interactive Achievement craft awards present their work in
game design, game play engineering, character and story development,
art direction, visual engineering, animation, and sound design.

The interactive
event for interactive content. Web3D content developers and
toolmakers demonstrate the latest technology and applications
in a fast-paced shootout. The audience selects the best of
the best from over 25 pre-selected presenters.

Sensory
explorers describe a future where computing strategies and digital
devices enhance, heighten, and repair the human sensorium. This
special session is a combination of talk show and television
cooking program, with a Greek chorus attached. Six guests (one
for each of the five senses and one for the sixth sense, mind)
demonstrate leading-edge technologies that show how the human
sensorium is being augmented with sophisticated computer chips.
During and after the demos, members of the Greek chorus contribute
their own observations and comments.

Organizers Kathryn Saunders
ThinkTech

James Geary
Time Magazine

Host James Geary
TIMEeurope.com

Participants Ferdinando (Sandro) Mussa-Ivaldi
Northwestern University

Henri Lustiger-Thaler
Aerome USA

Thomas A. Furness III
University of Washington

Hiroshi Ishii
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ellwood Ivey
Trisenx, Inc.

Alex Waibel
Carnegie Mellon University

Commentators Andrew Glassner
Writer and Consultant

Monika Fleischmann
GMD-Forschungszentrum Informationstechnik GmbH

Rosalind W. Picard
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2001 in 2001: How a Film Inspired Our Future Friday,
17 August
12:30 - 2 PM
West Hall B

In 1968,
Stanley Kubrick created a motion picture that did much more
than tell a story. "2001" defined the future and our place in
it, inspired a generation of artists and filmmakers, and created
a new perspective of the world. In this very special session,
industry veterans, historians, and visionaries take us on a
journey through "2001," discussing how its influent will extend
far into the 21st century and the possible futures that await
us.